Report: How close Europe came to taking "unprecedented action" at Ryder Cup

The European Ryder Cup team came close to downing tools at Bethpage Black last week, according to a report.

03 Oct 2025

The European Ryder Cup team came extremely close to taking unprecedented action at Bethpage Black last week, according to a report.

Luke Donald's dozen became the first to complete an away victory since the miraculous comeback victory at Medinah in 2012.

They did so after holding off a late comeback from the United States to seal a 15-13 win in New York.

But this year's matches have been largely overshadowed by how some spectators behaved towards the European team.

Several members of the side were targeted with vile, personal abuse.

Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica were the number one targets, with the golfer's wife even being struck by a drink on day two.

The McIlroys have since received a belated apology from the president of the PGA of America who initially drew criticism for failing to condemn the behaviour.

Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre and even Jon Rahm said they received taunts about their weight.

Matthew Fitzpatrick said he received abuse about his braces and the fact he wears Skechers golf shoes.

According to a report by Telegraph Sport, Team Europe were reportedly extremely close to taking unprecedented action by downing tools.

A source told the paper:

"Luke was and the team were so well prepared that they’d discussed what red lines would be and the conclusion was if the fans purposely put a player off during execution of shots then that was a probable reason to temporarily stop play until order was restored.

"Luke had a lot of procedures in place, including this, to control the players’'environment on the course and it would have been a decision based on captain/vice-captains and players feedback. From what I understand, it got very close to it."

The PGA of America's president, Don Rea, initially declined to condemn the abuse directed towards the European team.

He doubled down with a post some described as "bizarre" on his personal LinkedIn page.

But he has now said sorry to the McIlroys and the PGA's membership.

bunkered obtained a copy of his apology.

Not all PGA officials took his stance. Derek Sprague, the PGA of America's chief executive, was quick to say what transpired was unacceptable.

Sprague told Golf Channel there is "no place for that behaviour at the Ryder Cup".

The source added: "It is good that Sprague is holding his hands up, because the comments of Rea defied belief – the Europe crowds are nothing like those in the US.

"There has to be a line drawn in the sand after Bethpage, because it cannot carry on like this."

Luke Donald addresses US fan behaviour

Captain Donald told BBC Sport last week that he's not sure how to rein in fan behaviour as it was only an "odd number of people" who were shouting out.

"It's a tricky one," he said, adding that many US players were trying to get the crowd to allow the teams to play the matches fairly.

"Many Americans were coming up to say they how embarrassed they were for some of their fans. It was a small subset and don't know how you control it."